Latest Business News

THE initial public offering of Agricultural Bank of China, the country’s third-largest bank, looks set to become the biggest IPO on record. On July 6th and 7th the bank raised a reported $19.2 billion in a dual listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. If the bank takes up a further 15% allotment [...]

Landmark London toy store Hamleys claims to have ended a six-year losing streak as resurgent sales and job cuts helped it edge back into the black. Gudjon Reynisson, Hamleys’ chief executive, used annual results to draw a line under a turbulent period for the 250 year-old retailer which was thrown into turmoil during the credit [...]

HUMAN intelligence is higher, on average, in some places than in others. And researchers at the University of New Mexico have come up with an explanation, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. Comparing the average IQ in a particular country with its disease burden (based on the reduction in life expectancy caused by [...]

The iPhone 4, the latest and hottest gadget to hit the markets, carries an astonishingly low up-front price tag. On AT&T’s website or in its stores, bright orange letters blare out the bargain – only $199 for the pinnacle of Steve Jobs’ engineering and design. But as with all things, there’s no free lunch – [...]

“When the well started to flow, I knew what the capability would be, and it looked to me like it was going to spread everywhere and be at the mercy of the winds,” said Williger, a Texan who works in the oil business. “I really liked the unit, and really liked the price, and everybody [...]